TAMPA, Fla. – They were cousins who were also best friends, two California boys who loved to play baseball for hours, ride bikes from store to store, compete in everything and laugh forever. Man, did they laugh. Whenever Austin Romine thought about Jordan Stanton, his cousin, he thought about the kid who was always one smirk or one syllable away from making him laugh.

Those priceless jokes and expressions that Romine adored are gone now, gone because Stanton is gone. Stanton, a Marine Corporal, was killed while participating in combat operations in the Helmand province of Afghanistan on March 4. The kid that Romine called “my little brother” was 20 years old and was scheduled to return home next month. He was to be married in July.

“At this point in time,” Romine